EPCA: Financial Woes Leave VAM Outlook Uncertain

3:00 PM MDT | September 30, 2008 | Rebecca Coons

Financial market instability has created uncertainty in the outlook for the vinyl acetate monomer (VAM), as the chemical intermediate historically follows GDP growth, says Antulio Borneo, global business director, Dow Chemical, speaking to CW at the European Petrochemical Association’s (EPCA) annual meeting currently taking place in Monte Carlo. Demand so far this year has been “below expectations,” and demand for several VAM end uses have been adversely affected by the U.S. mortgage crisis, he says. At the same time, VAM margins...